The present invention relates generally to the field of communications systems. More particularly, the present invention relates, in one aspect, to communications contact centers, including distributed or virtual call center functionality. Still more particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to virtual contact centers incorporating systems and methods for flexible staffing control, illustratively employing paging or other alerting functionality.
Previous patent applications (i) and (ii) cited above, describe network-based interaction between calling parties, a call control server, a merchant server and one or more agents or customer service representatives (CSRs), which CSRs may be distributed over a number of locations remote from the customer and servers. Using high speed data networks, including the Internet, and/or the public switched telephone network (PSTN) customers contact CSRs in a controlled manner, with sufficient information available at CSR stations to answer customer questions, receive customer orders, or otherwise to serve customer needs. Such network arrangements are referred to as virtual call centers.
In some cases, a customer will originate a telephone call that is extended to a CSR exclusively over the PSTN, but under the control of the call control server. In other cases, a customer may be in controlled contact with a CSR exclusively over a data connection, and in other cases contact between the customer and CSR will include both a data network portion and a PSTN portion. Callback techniques, by which calls are originated by a CSR in response to a contact made by a customer to a merchant location over a data link, prove attractive to customers for some merchant applications. Using well-known voice-over-IP (VOIP) techniques, a voice call may be carried over a data network for all or part of its extent.
Network controls to enhance network and transaction security typically include voice and CSR data terminal login procedures, and selective dissemination of merchant and control pages to CSRs and customers. Provision is readily made for CSRs to login and logoff at the beginning and end of a work shift, and to accommodate periodic CSR breaks. Additionally, when customer calling rates are not sufficient to keep scheduled CSRs occupied, the earlier-described systems and methods provide flexibility in temporarily releasing CSRs to pursue other activities. Because CSRs may be working from home or other non-traditional workplaces, such releases often prove very attractive to CSR personnel.
While the term customer is clearly appropriate for network-based sales transactions using the described techniques, the term applies equally well when callers seek information, assistance and other services as well. Thus, for example, the prior teachings of incorporated patent applications (i) and (ii) will prove useful in providing library and other reference and consulting functions, in emergency and disaster applications, in political and other polling applications and a host of other applications. Incorporated patent applications (iii) through (vi) cited above likewise further illustrate (but by no means exhaust) contexts and services to which the prior inventive teachings may be applied. Simplicity of presentation dictates that the present description be based on an illustrative sales transaction context, i.e., the merchant will be assumed to be a supplier of goods or services. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present inventive systems, techniques and principles will also apply to many other particular contexts. The term merchant will therefore be understood to include many non-merchant contexts, e.g., emergency service call centers.
Problems to be Solved
Perceived quality of customer service for call center transactions depends, in part, on the time a customer is required to wait for contact with a CSR, perhaps after having browsed a merchant web page that raised questions that are to be resolved before placing an order. However, if customer calling rates exceed expectations, or holding times for calls vary substantially from period to period in excess of norms, customers may be required to wait an inordinate period of time to reach a CSR. Waiting beyond a reasonable period often proves exasperating to callers, thus resulting in hang-ups and corresponding lost sales. Likewise, though prior systems provide for supervisor intervention at appropriate times, the number of occasions requiring supervisor attention may on occasion exceed the capacity of available supervisorsxe2x80x94again resulting in delays, frustration and possible lost business. Moreover, some contexts, such as call centers providing technical or business support for merchant products and services, may require the availability of highly skilled technical or business experts to treat unusual problems.
The availability of such additional CSRs, supervisors and experts proves especially difficult to schedule in the overall context of a distributed or virtual call center. These difficulties are exacerbated by network failures requiring substitution of CSRs in unaffected regions, and by unusual customer calling rates induced by external unpredictable circumstances. In addition, absenteeism due to illness, severe weather or natural disasters may place unusual stress on normal personnel schedules.
Though virtual call center schedules may be known to a manager or shift supervisor, the degree to which all scheduled CSRs for a particular shift have logged-in may prove difficult to manage for a supervisor who has call monitoring and other management responsibilities. Further, a CSR who has failed to login as scheduled may not be available for the entire shift, or may simply be tardy, perhaps due to temporary traffic conditions or the like.
In another aspect, a calling customer may have a strong preference for interacting with a particular CSR, even if it requires some waiting for that CSR to become available. But when the desired particular CSR is not scheduled for current availability, is temporarily logged-off for a break, or is unavailable for other temporary reasons, the customer may defer or cancel interaction with the merchant system or applicationxe2x80x94again resulting in a lost business opportunity.
Thus an unfulfilled need exists for methods and systems for quickly mobilizing additional (or particular) available personnel when demands placed on a virtual call center exceed available personnel resources.
Limitations of the prior art are overcome and a technical advance is made, and the above-cited and other problems are solve in accordance with the present invention described in illustrative embodiments herein.
In one aspect, page and connect functionality is incorporated into virtual call center system operations to permit logged-off customer service representatives (CSRs), supervisors and other needed personnel to be alerted to a need to logon to the system to meet an unanticipated or specialized caller demand. Paging, messaging and calling resources of a wireless telephone system, among others, are alternatively applied in the alerting or notification process.
Matching at a call control center of existing calling levels or other conditions to predetermined criteria, e.g., failure to login at an assigned time, or specified network conditions (such as length of customer queues), illustratively triggers a command for an alerting message to one or more logged-off CSRs. Results of follow-up testing for matches causes alerting messages to be renewed, redirected or canceled.
Recognition by a logged-on CSR or supervisor of unusual call requirements or emerging network, technical or business conditions requiring supervisory input or increased participation by traffic or subject matter specialists illustratively motivates manual selection of messages to be sent to a virtual call center requesting issuance of pages (or cellular phone communications or other alerting messages) to cognizant personnel. For this purpose, a call control server advantageously maintains a database roster of on-call supervisors and specialists not presently logged-on.
Standard computer graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are employed to allow rapid selection of individuals or groups to be identified and alerted by paging techniques or otherwise.
Embodiments of the present inventive solutions will find application in contexts other than virtual call centers. For example, persons who are traveling or otherwise working from a virtual office will avail themselves of on-call network connection using present inventive techniques. To the extent that virtual call centers are associated with voice contacts by customers or others, the present invention further extends virtual call center techniques to non-voice contacts, e.g., when customer and other contacts are sought to be made via IP or other messaging techniques. Accordingly, the present invention provides for alerting of individuals and groups for purposes of handling voice or non-voice contacts. Thus, the present inventive techniques provide alerting in virtual contact centers or other virtual contact contextsxe2x80x94such as the above-noted virtual office contexts.